Home Secretary Priti Patel has agreed to meet Moray MP Douglas Ross to discuss the case of a constituent facing deportation to his native China.
Matt Freeman, who first moved to the UK in 2003 and now lives in Lossiemouth, has been denied leave to remain in the UK after a battle lasting several years.
He has suffered from mental health problems and co-founded the charity Moray Wellbeing Hub in 2017, while, in 2018, he was elected as director at VOX Scotland, a national mental health charity.
Mr Ross has supported Mr Freeman’s efforts for indefinite leave to remain since he was first elected as an MP in 2017. The local MP contacted the Home Office again in January to argue that the case is looked at again.
Today, he raised the matter with Home Secretary Priti Patel during Home Office questions in the House of Commons and asked for a meeting to discuss the “considerable case for Matt to remain in Moray”.
In response, the Home Secretary said it was a “very important case” and agreed to a meeting to discuss the “detailed nature of the case”.
Scottish Conservative MP for Moray Douglas Ross said:
“I am very pleased that the Home Secretary has agreed to meet with me to discuss this case.
“Matt is big part of the community here in Moray and always wants to help others and contribute to the area.
“As I said in the Commons, he has made Moray his home and I want to do all I can to ensure that he can stay here.
“Matt has no immediate family in China so no reason to return, but he has a network of support here which has been important since he was diagnosed as bi-polar. I do worry that he may not have access to that same level of support if he goes back to China.
“This is a complex case, and my office has a huge amount of paperwork dating back several years now.
“I look forward to meeting the Home Secretary personally to go over all the details of the case and I hope for a positive outcome.”